My gluten free pitfall: Chick-Fil-A Shakes

This morning I saw this video about gluten free pitfalls, and it got me thinking about when I may set myself up for a pitfall of my own. Usually I am very careful about reading labels, talking to waitresses, and avoiding cross contamination. But, I admit, there are times when I am not as careful as I should be.

But then I got ahead of myself. I saw milkshakes on the menu, and impulse ordered one without knowing for sure that it was gluten free. I know, shame on me. But since McDonald’s soft serve, Wendy’s Frosty, and most other milkshakes are fine, I just went with it.

But by the time I made it home, I knew that I had eaten gluten. The catch with Chick fil-A’s milkshakes (according to this post on Gluten Free is Life) are that they make their cookies and cream variety on the same machine (or maybe it comes out of the same spout? not sure). So, there’s a high possibility for cross contamination, which I happened to be so lucky to experience right when I got home from the trip. Not an awful reaction, just my mouth was numb and upset stomach. But, if I would have just asked them to clean the machine thoroughly before making my shake, it most likely could have been avoided.

So, my bad.

This experience made me think through other times when I wasn’t as careful as I should have been to avoid gluten. Like:

1. Group dipping – when I’m at a party or with a group of people, I don’t always feel comfortable asking every person there not to dip their pita bread in the hummus, and instead use the knife to put some on their plate. So, usually I try to just dip my veggies or gf chips in a place that looks untouched, which isn’t exactly the best strategy.

2. No gluten free label – there are times when I review a list of ingredients, and there doesn’t appear to be anything in it that contains gluten (this is especially the case with most generic packaged foods). If I’m really hungry, or there’s nothing else available, sometimes I’ll go for it. But, until the FDA creates better standards for gf labeling, I should stop doing that.

3. Mean server – when I’m eating out, if the server seems mean, rushed, or just generally unpleasant, I won’t be as careful as I am when I have a more accommodating server. Sure, I try to win all of them over with my charming personality, but if they just aren’t having it then sometimes I’ll just kind of cross my fingers and hope that everything turns out okay. Or I’ll end up having a dry salad because I’m too timid to make them check what’s in their dressings.

So, after this latest Chick fil-A pitfall, I’m going to pledge to myself to work on these three things.